Temple valuables stolen, inside job not ruled out

Ongole, April 18 (INN): Ongole police suspect the involvement of some of the temple authority members behind the disappearance of the pearl-studded crown and other valuable clothes of goddess Kanchi Kamakshi, the presiding deity of the temple Ranga Rayudu Lake, Ongole in Prakasam district which went missing on Monday morning.

According to Inspector Nagaraju, the crown made of precious metals and studded with rare pearls and the clothes offered to the deity were removed and kept aside by the temple priest as part of the preparations of the Abhisekha Snanam, the morning rituals.

The temple priest, to his horror, discovered the valuable items missing. He immediately alerted the police who rushed to the spot and started inquiries.

The police learnt that there were no security personnel inside the temple during their visit. The police were told by the temple authorities that the missing articles carried more emotional value than the estimated market price of around Rs 1.25 lakh.

Inspector Nagaraju said that the police were not ruling out the involvement of some of the temple authority members, especially since they were well aware of the daily sequence of events. Efforts are on to trace the missing valuables, he said and added that a case under Section 379 IPC has been registered.